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Hedgehog are small prickly mammals. There are
approximately 20 species of hedgehog.
Hedgehog Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Erinaceomorpha
Family: Erinaceidae
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Other Names: Pincushion, Urchin, Hedgepig,
and Furze-pig.
Hedgehog in Foreign Languages:
Albanian: iriqi
Ancient Greek: ekhinos
Arabic: qunfudh
Moroccan Arabic: genfod
Armenian: ozni
Basque: triku
Belarusian: vožyk
Breton: heureuchin
Bulgarian: taralež
Catalan: eriçó
Czech: ježek
Danish: pindsvin
Dutch: egel
Esperanto: erinaco
Estonian: siil
Faroese: tindasvín
Finnish: siili
French: hérisson
Friulian: riç
Galician: ourizo
German: Igel
Greek: skantzóchoiros
Hebrew: kipod
Hungarian: sün / sündisznó
Icelandic: broddgöltur
Irish: gráinneog
Italian: riccio / porcospino
Japanese: harinezumi
Korean: goseumdochi
Kurdish: jijok
Latin: erinaceus / ericius
Latvian: ezis
Lithuanian: ežys
Luxembourgish: Kéiseker / Däreldéier
/ Igel
Maltese: qanfud
Mandarin: cìwei
Navajo: adijilii
Norwegian: piggsvin / pinnsvin
Occitan: eriç / eriçon
Persian: juje-tighi
Polish: jez
Portuguese: porco-espinho / ouriço
Romanian: arici
Romansch: erizun
Russian: jož / jóžik
Sardinian: arritzoni / grixoni
/ berittu
Scottish Gaelic: gràineag
Sicilian: rizzu
Slovakian: jež
Slovenian: jež
Spanish: erizo
Sundanese: landak
Swedish: igelkott
Turkish: kirpi
Ukrainian: jižák
Upper Sorbian: jež, ježik
Welsh: draenog
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Species: There are more than 15 species of hedgehogs.
Size: Hedgehogs are 5 to 12 inches long with
a 1-2 inch tail. Hedgehogs weigh 14 to 56 ounces.
Habitat: Hedgehogs are found in Europe, Asia,
Africa and New Zealand. Hedgehogs live in a variety
of habitats including the forest , desert, savanna,
scrubland, and suburban gardens.
Description: Hedgehogs are short, stout animals.
The hedgehogs backs are covered with quills, the quills
are sharp stiff spines, that are used for protection.
The average hedgehog has about 5,000 to 6,500 quills.
Diet: Hedgehogs eat beetles, slugs, snails,
frogs and toads, snakes, bird eggs, carrion, and other
invertebrates. Some species of hedgehogs eat berries
and fruit as well.
Behavior: Hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal.
Hedgehogs will roll into a small ball as a defense mechanism
to protect itself from a predator.
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Communication: Hedgehogs communicate
using a series of grunts, snuffles and squeals.
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Did You Know?
Cancer is very common in hedgehogs.
The most common is squamous cell carcinoma.
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Gestation: Hedgehogs carry their young for 4
to 6 weeks.
Birth: Newborn hedgehogs weigh less than 1 ounce
at birth. Hedgehogs are born blind. Hedgehogs will give
birth to litters of from 1 to 11 babies. The babies
will only stay with their mother for the first 4-7 weeks
of their life.
Sexually Mature: Hedgehogs are sexually mature
between the age of 9 to 11 months.
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Life Span: A hedgehogs life span is typically
3 to 8 years. Smaller species of hedgehogs have
a shorter life span.
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Did You Know?
Hedgehogs can travel up to 6.5 feet
per second.
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Social Structure: Hedgehogs are solitary animals
except when mating or raising young.
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